


Snow Angels

by ravenstorm



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Snowed In, im trash for snow fluff that's why, this is all shameless cliche but i regret nothing, why did i write a winter themed fic when spring just started you ask?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 18:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10519659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenstorm/pseuds/ravenstorm
Summary: Jaemin knows he's too easily swayed by Donghyuck, especially when it comes to a certain dark-haired basketball player with a blinding smile. But it's just five days of skiing, right? What could possibly go wrong?





	

**Author's Note:**

> it's been almost a year since i last posted and this is super short and rubbishy im SORRYYY (i'll really try and put out something longer soon!) anyway i miss jaemin lots and this is my coping mechanism :(( enjoy some nomin cuteness, comments and kudos always appreciated my loves <3

“Hyuck, I can’t even kick a football without falling on my ass. I would probably die if I tried to ski.”

Donghyuck sighed, turning to face his best friend with _that_ look that Jaemin had seen one too many times before. It was the look that said ‘you’re trying to avoid something, but I’m going to make you do it anyway.’

“Pleeeeease Nana. It’ll be fun,” he whined, pulling on Jaemin’s arm.

Jaemin knew Donghyuck only used ‘Nana’ when he’d reached the point of begging, and you could never say no to Donghyuck’s begging. Truthfully there were two reasons that Jaemin didn’t want to go on the school’s annual ski trip. The first was that he was hopelessly unathletic, all flailing arms and legs every time he tried to participate in sport class. The second was that Donghyuck’s boyfriend Mark had also signed up for the trip, and Jaemin was tired of constantly third wheeling them and being reminded of how Tragically Single he was.

“You and Mark are just gonna be all over each other,” Jaemin grumbled.

Donghyuck pulled a face at him. “We won’t. He’s actually going there to ski, I’m going there for the week off school. So like I said, it would be fun. My brother went three years ago and he says the hotel is awesome, it’s got a pool and an arcade and everything. Plus we could room together.”

Jaemin was still apprehensive, absentmindedly scuffing his foot across the ground beneath the bench they were sitting on.

“You still want one more reason?” Donghyuck asked, and now Jaemin was worried because a twinkle had appeared in his best friend’s eye and the corner of his mouth was curled into a smirk.

“What?”

“Jeno is going.”

It was lame, but Jaemin felt his heart jump into his stomach, like it pretty much always did wherever Jeno was concerned. Handsome, athletic, and with a glowing smile that could outshine the sun itself, Jaemin had fallen in love the second he’d laid eyes on Jeno. Three years had passed since then, and although he’d managed to form a friendship with Jeno through the numerous classes they shared together, the huge crush was unresolved and had never diminished in size.

“Are you sure?”

Donghyuck nodded, mischievous smile firmly set on his face. He knew he’d won now. “I saw his name on the signup sheet.”

Jaemin sighed. “I can’t believe I gave in to you again,” he said, finally submitting to the other boy.

“I knew the mention of Lee Jeno would turn you into a sappy loser,” Donghyuck said triumphantly, earning him a smack across the arm from Jaemin.

“I’m going for you, not for him. In fact I won’t even look at him for the entire trip,” Jaemin declared.

Donghyuck laughed. “Doesn’t sound likely,” he murmured, this time dodging sharply out of the way before Jaemin’s hand could assault his arm a second time.

~

Just before his afternoon class, Jaemin slipped into the sports hall and located the ski trip signup sheet on the far wall. There were a couple of girls in front of him already signing it, so by the time he reached the front there were only 6 slots left. He considered just telling Donghyuck all the spots were filled up, but the lie could too easily be found out. Defeated, he took out his pen and carefully printed his name on the next available line.

“Jaemin!” called a familiar voice from behind him, and his heart flipped. He turned around to see Jeno running over to him, dressed in a tank top and shorts ready for basketball practice.

“Hi!” he replied brightly.

“You signed up for the ski trip? Me too!” Jeno said, flashing a smile which knocked the strength out of Jaemin’s knees.

He nodded in response. “Donghyuck decided he wanted me to keep him company, so I didn’t get much choice in the matter.”

“I can imagine. Donghyuck can be very persuasive.”

“Well at least it means if I fall and break a limb I can hold him liable and claim compensation.”

Jeno laughed. “Well I hope that doesn’t happen. It’ll be fun, don’t worry,” he said, nudging Jaemin’s arm gently. At that moment the coach blew the whistle and Jeno rolled his eyes. “I gotta go. See you around, Jaemin!”

As the boy bounded off across the court to join his team, Jaemin took a few deep breaths to calm his pounding heart. Talking to Jeno always reduced him to a puddle, and it was starting to get annoying. Why did being so hopelessly in love have to be so hard?

~

Before Jaemin knew it the first day of the trip had already arrived. They had to set off from school at 7am, which meant he was barely able to keep his eyes open as they waited for the coach to pick them up. He spotted Jeno standing with some other of his friends, and the boy met his eyes and smiled brightly. Despite the early hour of the morning Jeno still looked so radiant, and Jaemin couldn’t help but think it wasn’t fair.

If Jaemin wasn’t good with early mornings, then Donghyuck was even worse. The positive of this situation was that his usually loud and boisterous best friend was knocked out asleep for the majority of the coach journey. However the negative was that when Donghyuck did wake up, he was grumpy and kept moaning about anything and everything.

“Jaemin, you’re squashing my arm,” he mumbled at one point about an hour into the journey.

“I’m not squashing your arm, Hyuck. You’re lying on top of me.”

“Actually you’re lying under me,” he grumbled back. “And you should probably stop it, I have a boyfriend and he’s only sitting a few seats away.”

Rolling his eyes, Jaemin made an attempt to push Donghyuck off him but the boy was asleep again and had become dead weight.

Fortunately after this it only took around another hour before the coach pulled to a stop. Jaemin elbowed Donghyuck to wake him up and they piled off the coach, excited to see what luxury resort awaited them.

Jaemin stopped dead in his tracks. Rather than the gleaming white slopes and expensive hotel he expected to find, they instead appeared to be in the middle of a forest. The snow on the ground was trodden down and dirty, and the only buildings he could see were a number of log cabins dotted around the clearing. Surely that couldn’t be where they were staying…

“Students, welcome to this year’s ski trip,” the teacher began. “This isn’t the usual resort we ski at but we thought it might be nice to have a change. Each of these cabins houses two people and in the middle there is a larger cabin that we can all eat meals together in. In order to save time and minimise arguments we’ve randomly assigned you to cabins. If you’re with someone you don’t know, we apologise, but it’s only for five nights.”

Jaemin sent a panicked glance in Donghyuck’s direction. He’d actually started to look forward to the trip thinking that he’d be rooming with his best friend, but now the situation seemed to be spiralling downwards. They were already reading the list, so Jaemin listened intently to catch his name.

“… Huang Renjun and Zhong Chenle, Lee Donghyuck and Park Jisung, Na Jaemin and Lee Jeno,”-

Blood rushed into Jaemin’s head so fast he felt like he might pass out. He was vaguely aware of Donghyuck winking at him and flashing a thumbs up before walking over to Jisung. Jaemin’s heart was threatening to jump out of his mouth as he looked around him. _Get it together Jaemin,_ he told himself. _Try and act like you’re not about to spend five nights rooming with a guy you have a giant crush on._

Suddenly that very guy was right in front of him, bearing the same glowing smile he always did. “So, we’re roommates!” Jeno said excitedly.  
Jaemin forced a grin onto his face. _Be normal,_ he was yelling inside his head. “I know! It’s gonna be fun.”

They’d been assigned cabin number 16, which was thankfully not too far to walk. Jaemin dragged his luggage along as Jeno fit their key into the lock and swung the door open.

The inside wasn’t as bad as Jaemin had predicted. It was nicely furnished with a small couch and coffee table, a cupboard and chest of drawers, a kitchen that was really just a few cupboards and a sink, and two decently sized beds.

“It’s cute, isn’t it?” Jeno said, also seeming to be happy with their cabin. “Which bed do you want?”

Jaemin nodded to the one on the right hand side of the room. “I’ll take that one, since it’s against the wall. I have a habit of falling out.”

Jeno laughed. “Okay sure. I won’t complain, since this one looks bigger anyway,” he joked, grinning at Jaemin as he put his bag down on the left hand bed and began to unpack.

They’d barely finished unloading their belongings before they heard one of the teachers calling for everyone to meet at the main cabin, so Jaemin quickly ran a brush through his messy hair before following Jeno back to where the coach had stopped.

“Hey,” Jaemin heard a whisper from behind him, and turned to see Donghyuck with his eyebrows raised and a mischievous smile on his face. “You’re in.”

Jaemin pulled a face at him. “No I’m not ‘in’,” he hissed back, worried that Jeno would hear them from where he was stood talking to Renjun. “Nothing’s going to happen, we’re just roommates. I’m going to think totally platonic thoughts about him for five nights and then go home and continue pining after him from a distance like I’ve always done.”

“Don’t miss this chance Nana,” Donghyuck said, with a rarely seen serious expression on his face. “You’ve had a crush on him for three years. You never know what might happen unless you try.”

Jaemin knew his friend was right, but to confess to Jeno would take a lot of courage and confidence, which were two things Jaemin had never possessed much of.

Luckily Donghyuck had to drop the subject after that, as the camp staff arrived to give them a tour of their surroundings and then take them back to the main cabin for lunch.

The afternoon was spent skiing, or rather in Jaemin’s case, falling head first into the snow multiple times while an instructor patiently tried to explain the technique to him. Even Donghyuck seemed to pick it up quickly, despite claiming he wouldn’t have a chance of staying upright. But Jaemin just couldn’t find his balance.

Eventually he gave up, feeling like he was wasting the instructor’s time. Instead he sat and watched the group of students who already knew how to ski, including Jeno, who were over on the intermediate slopes. It looked fun, but Jaemin was also far too afraid of injuries and potential death to even think about trying the speeds they were going at. He thought he would be lucky to even conquer the gentle beginner’s slopes by the end of the week.

~

By the third day, this prediction seemed to be correct. He wasn’t gaining any skills whatsoever, still holding the poles awkwardly and falling over just as much as before. Donghyuck had abandoned him, already proficient at the beginner’s slopes thanks to extra tuition by Mark. Jeno had offered to help Jaemin after seeing him struggle, but he was too embarrassed to accept.

However one positive that had come from the first three days was that Jaemin now able to talk to Jeno without feeling like his heart might explode at any second. It was nice to feel more casual around the boy, and he enjoyed their conversations in the evening before bed and in the morning after Jeno had to drag Jaemin out from under the covers in order to wake him up. Donghyuck was still persistent in telling Jaemin to make a move, but for now he was content that their friendship seemed to be growing closer.

As they all ate dinner together that night, a teacher announced the weather forecast had shown a large snowstorm would be hitting them overnight.

“It will probably be too dangerous to ski if the weather is as predicted,” the teacher told them, prompting a moan of annoyance from most of the students. “It’s for your own safety. We’ll give you another update tomorrow morning.”

Jeno, Mark and even Donghyuck looked disappointed at the news but Jaemin couldn’t help feeling slightly glad. A day off from falling over and humiliating himself sounded like a nice idea.

It had already started to snow as they left the main cabin. Massive flakes, bigger than any Jaemin had seen, catapulted in flurries from the sky. Jeno turned and smiled, looking like a little kid seeing snow for the first time, his dark hair dotted with white. Jaemin would have done anything to kiss him at that moment, but instead he just smiled back and reached out to catch a flake on his hand. It rested for just a second before melting gently.

The snow seemed to get heavier even as Jaemin and Jeno walked to their cabin, and the temperature was plummeting.

“It’s freezing in here,” Jeno whined when they were inside.

Jaemin shivered, nodding his agreement. “Do you think someone will take one for the team and set their cabin on fire to keep us all warm?”

They both piled on every item of clothing they’d brought and climbed straight into bed, but the cold was relentless and Jaemin was still shivering despite the layers. He lay for what felt like forever trying to get to sleep, shuffling from one uncomfortable position to another. Jeno’s breathing had slowed down so Jaemin assumed he was already asleep, but then a soft whisper came across the frozen room.

“Hey, Jaemin?”

“Yeah?”

There was a moment of silence. “Never mind, it’s fine.”

But Jaemin was too curious to let that whisper go, he wanted to know what Jeno had been going to say. “What is it?”

Another short silence. “Well I was just wondering if… sorry, I… you can say no if you want,” he stammered, sounding nervous. “It’s just, neither of us are going to sleep while we’re this cold. Do you think we could try sharing a bed to warm up? If you don’t mind.”

Jaemin’s breath caught in his throat. Was this really happening? Had Jeno really just asked him that? Maybe he’d fallen asleep after all and this was a dream.

He hurried to answer before Jeno thought he was hesitating because he didn’t want to. “Good idea! Of course I don’t mind,” he answered, trying to sound calmer than he was feeling. In reality, his heart was racing and his cheeks were already flushed as he heard Jeno get out of bed. In the light of the room’s small lamp he saw a silhouette cross the room, and then felt the sheet being lifted before the other boy’s weight was added to the mattress.

Jaemin wasn’t sure what to say for a moment, but then Jeno laughed softly. “Sorry if it’s awkward. I just couldn’t deal with being that cold any longer.”

“It’s totally fine,” Jaemin said, keeping his voice steady despite the inner turmoil. “I’m already warmer.”

Despite the dim light, Jaemin could still see the sparkle of Jeno’s eyes. “Me too. Goodnight, Jaemin.”

“Goodnight Jeno.”

~

Someone was poking Jaemin in the arm, attempting to wake him up, but the cloud of sleep was too heavy on his brain. It was weird, it felt like someone else was in his bed. As he tried to drag himself out of unconsciousness, he suddenly remembered, and his eyes shot open.

Lee Jeno was really there in the bed next to him, hair sticking up at all angles and smiling softly. Jaemin couldn’t breathe for a second.

“Good morning,” Jeno said. “I thought you’d never wake up. Did you sleep well? It was really nice and warm in the end, huh?”

The situation was so close and intimate that Jaemin could feel himself panicking. Why hadn’t Jeno got up already? They’d only shared the bed to keep warm enough to sleep, so now they were awake, why was Jeno still there?

“Uh, what time is it?” Jaemin squeaked, unable to maintain eye contact with Jeno any longer. “We should get up, we can’t be late to meet the others.”

He barely caught it but Jeno’s face fell slightly, the corners of his smile flattening out. Why did he seem disappointed? Jaemin couldn’t understand the other boy’s behaviour.

“You’re right, it’s nearly 8,” Jeno agreed, his voice still bubbly as usual. “Let’s get up.”

As soon as Jaemin left the warmth of the bed, the extreme coldness of their cabin chilled him right to the bone. “It’s freezing,” he whined.

He noticed that Jeno had stopped in the middle of the room, and was staring at the window. “Why is it so dark?” he asked.

Jaemin hadn’t even realised, but Jeno was right. Usually this time of the morning there would be light shining in through their curtains, a stripe of sunshine peeping through the crack. But the small lamp in the corner of the room was all that was illuminating their cabin.

Jeno reached up and pulled the curtain back, and Jaemin couldn’t understand what he was seeing. Sure enough, there was no light coming in through the window, but it seemed to be because it was covered by something. Both boys tried looking at it from all angles, but they couldn’t work out what was wrong.

“I’ll go look outside,” Jeno said, pulling his coat over his night clothes and slipping his shoes on. He unlocked the door and pushed on the handle, but nothing happened. Even with his weight on the door, it wouldn’t move. He looked back at Jaemin and realisation dawned on both of them at the same time, but it was Jeno who spoke it.

“Oh my God, we’re snowed in.”

~

Neither of them knew what to do next. They hadn’t brought their phones with them to the resort, and there was no signal anyway. They could only guess that someone was aware of their situation, and was doing whatever they could to get them out.

Jaemin, of course, was having an internal crisis. He’d coped with being Jeno’s roommate so far, but that was just with a short amount of interaction in the mornings and evenings. Being trapped in such close proximity to the boy he was in love with was suddenly way too much pressure.

“I wonder if we’re the only ones,” Jeno wondered aloud. They were both sat on their respective beds, unsure what to do in the situation. “What if every cabin is like this? They’ll need machinery to move all the snow.”

“How could it have snowed so hard in one night?” Jaemin groaned. “What if we starve to death?”

Jeno laughed. “We’ll have to fight it out for who gets to eat the other to survive.”

“I’d win,” Jaemin said.

“Are you sure about that?” Jeno shot back, eyes in crescents as he stuck his tongue out.

Jaemin reached for his rucksack that was next to his bed. “Okay, let’s not put cannibalism on the agenda just yet. I have a few snacks leftover from the coach journey that I didn’t eat. Donghyuck was lying on my arm so I couldn’t reach my bag.”

“I noticed a few cup ramens in the cupboard,” Jeno said, gesturing to the small kitchen. “We’ll have to ration them, we don’t know how long we might be in here.”

“This is kind of exciting,” Jaemin said, unable to help smiling. “Unless of course we do starve to death. That would make it less exciting.”

For most of the day, the two boys tried to amuse themselves with the very little entertainment available in the cabin. They found some holiday pamphlets in the bedside drawers and read them front to back, even planning out where they’d go on their dream vacation if they were rich enough. Then they scoured every corner of the room looking for anything interesting to do, and Jeno made the very exciting discovery of a few dusty board games that had been hidden under the bed. One was chess which neither of them knew how to play, but another was Monopoly which had them both very enthusiastic.

“No seriously, I’m the best at Monopoly,” Jaemin said, wanting to firmly stake his territory as a Monopoly professional. “I’ve never lost a single game against my parents.”

“Oh yeah?” Jeno said, raising an eyebrow curiously. “Well I’ve never lost a single game against my brother. And he steals money from the bank.”

The game started on pretty even footing, with both boys acquiring a similar amount of properties on the board. Soon the only two available spots were a blue property and a green property, the two most valuable. It took a long time for either of them to land on the right squares, but it was eventually Jeno that conquered them both. Jaemin fought valiantly for a while, proposing some trades and managing to get monopolies on the pink, red and yellow properties.

But as soon as Jeno had placed hotels on all the green and blue properties, he knew he was done for. An unfortunate roll landed him right on the last blue square, and he was bankrupt.

“The great Monopoly master… Na Jaemin… has been defeated?” he whimpered dramatically, clutching his heart and toppling over onto the floor.

Jeno laughed, picking up the board and hitting Jaemin on the leg with it. “I thought you’d accuse me of cheating.”

Jaemin looked up at him, an indignant expression on his face. “Me, a sore loser? Never. Although maybe I did see your hand slip into the bank once or twice”-

The board collided with his leg again.

By the time they cleared up the game it was already evening. It was the time they would usually be starting dinner over in the main cabin, and they were both starving.

They boiled the kettle to make some ramen, finishing off one bag of snacks while they waited.

“The best before date on these is two years ago,” Jeno said, eyeing the cup noodles warily. “Do you think they’re safe?”

Jaemin shrugged. “It’s just dried noodles, right? It’s either this or we go hungry, and I’m willing to take the risk.”

They had one cup each even though that depleted half their supplies, because their stomachs were so desperate for food. They ate so fast there was a short time where only their eating sounds could be heard.

“You have sauce on your mouth, Nana,” Jeno said with a smile, pointing at his own face to indicate the position. Jaemin took a moment to register that Jeno had just called him Nana, a nickname he’d only ever heard from his mother or Donghyuck. But it sounded different coming from Jeno, and suddenly his heart was beating way too fast again. He blushed and hurriedly wiped away the sauce, but the other boy was still smiling fondly at him, and Jaemin was reminded of just how disgustingly in love with Jeno he really was.

After they’d finished eating and night was falling, they both started to get feel the cold again. Neither of them were tired, so they sat together on Jeno’s bed wrapped in their duvets.

“This isn’t exactly what I expected from this trip,” Jeno said, looking towards the window which was still blacked out by the frozen wall.

Jaemin nodded his agreement. “Me neither. Although what I was expecting was to fall over every few seconds while attempting to ski more than a metre, so I think I prefer how it’s turned out.”

Jeno looked at him, a smile tweaking the corner of his mouth up a little. “Me too.”

There was a moment of silence before Jaemin recovered enough to respond. “R-really?” he stammered, trying to act calmer than he felt. “You’re so good at skiing though. I saw you on the expert slopes yesterday.”

Jeno shrugged. “I go skiing every year with my family, so it’s not that exciting anymore. I only came because my parents wanted me to. So being snowed in is way more fun.” He paused, his eyes darting away from Jaemin’s. “And it’s been nice to get closer to you as well.”

 _Breathe, Jaemin,_ he told himself. _In and out, you can do it._ He laughed off his inner turmoil, reverting to jokes as he always did. “Are you sure that’s not just because you won at Monopoly?”

There it was again, the quick flash of disappointment on Jeno’s face just like he’d seen that morning. While Jaemin couldn’t understand the other boy’s behaviour, he immediately cursed himself for his response. Why hadn’t he said ‘thank you’, or ‘it was nice to get to know you too’? What an idiot.

“Well of course that did help,” Jeno said, his bright smile already replacing the shadow Jaemin had seen briefly pass.

Jaemin, still annoyed at his own blunder, wanted to keep Jeno talking. “What did you mean when you said you only came because your parents wanted you to?”

The other boy pulled a face. “They’re very enthusiastic about sport. From when I was a toddler they were always encouraging me to do any and every sport imaginable. Which would be fine, but they always stopped me doing the one sport I actually wanted to do.”

Jaemin frowned. “What’s that?”

“Dance,” Jeno said, blushing as he looked up. “Like you.”

When Jaemin said he was bad at every sport, this wasn’t entirely true. He’d been an excellent dancer from a very young age, attending classes throughout his entire childhood and being immediately accepted into the regional team when he joined high school. Donghyuck, who never missed a single performance, always said how Jaemin was such a different person on and off stage. On stage he was graceful, focused, executing every move with perfect precision. Off stage he was liable to trip over his own feet at any moment.

“Why did they stop you?” Jaemin asked.

“They’re old fashioned, think it’s too girly.” Jeno rolled his eyes. “I’ve shown them dance practice videos, tried to convince them it’s for anyone to do, but they got upset by it so I stopped. Basketball was the only sport where I didn’t cry after coming home from practice, so that was our compromise.”

It made Jaemin sad to think that some parents didn’t let their children do what they loved. He was fortunate to have his parents, they were always supportive of everything he did, but Jeno made him realise not everyone was that lucky.

“If you ever want to come along to practice you’d be welcome,” Jaemin said, his heart breaking to see Jeno look so forlorn. “We’re not working on any group performances at the moment so we just do our own thing at rehearsal. It would be cool if we did it together?”

Jeno’s eyes lit up. “Really? I would love that so much, honestly.”

“In return, maybe I’ll take you up on the offer of skiing tuition. If we ever get out of this cabin, that is.”

Jeno was smiling widely now, and it was still the most beautiful sight in the world to Jaemin. “Thank you Nana.”

“It’s no problem,” Jaemin grinned back, his heart swelling again at the use of the nickname.

“I like getting to know you better,” Jeno said. “Let’s ask each other random questions.” Jaemin nodded his approval, and Jeno thought for a moment. “Ok, favourite animal?”

“Cats. I always wanted one but my dad is allergic.”

“They’re my favourite too,” Jeno said eagerly. “I have two.”

“Dude seriously? You have to let me come play with them one day,” Jaemin whined.

“Sure, but you’re already getting free skiing lessons,” Jeno responded, his eyes twinkling. “I might have to start charging for cat visits. Anyway, your turn to ask.”

“Ok, favourite food?”

Jeno groaned. “You had to ask that when all we’ve eaten in 24 hours is ramen and a few snacks? You’re killing me.” He clutched his stomach for dramatic effect. “My number one is probably ice cream, as ironic as that seems right now. I like watermelon and hamburgers too. What about you?”

It pained Jaemin to think about his favourite foods too. There seemed to be an empty void where his stomach used to be. “Pizza,” he sighed. “I’d kill for some right now.”

“Ok, let’s stop talking about food before we both start crying. Favourite colour?”

“White. You?”

“Blue.”

“You play any instruments?”

“Guitar. You play piano right?”

Jaemin smiled. “How did you know?

Jeno blushed. “I saw you. I sometimes walk past the music rooms after school when basketball practice finishes.”

It was Jaemin’s turn to blush this time. “I’m not very good. I taught myself.”

“I think you’re amazing.”

Jaemin was falling, deeper and deeper, and at this point there was no way out.

“Ok let me give you a more interesting question,” Jeno said, his voice more serious but the lamplight still dancing in his dark eyes. “Do you have a crush on anyone?”

There was a stab in Jaemin’s stomach sharper than ever before. He desperately tried to maintain a blank façade, but was terrified that the panic in his eyes would give him away.

“Come on, that’s a thing that friends know about each other,” Jeno laughed, breaking Jaemin’s horrified silence. “You don’t have to tell me, but you should.”

He couldn’t lie.

“Yeah, I do actually.”

A strange expression fell across Jeno’s face. It seemed to be a mixture of surprise and something else which Jaemin just couldn’t read.

“Is it Donghyuck?”

Jaemin was so shocked for a second he didn’t know how to respond. “What? No!”

“Oh, sorry, I”- Jeno seemed flustered now, misinterpreting Jaemin’s reaction. “I didn’t mean to assume anything, I just thought… I’m sorry, I guess you’re not… that…”

“Hey, it’s ok,” Jaemin said, tension continuing to tighten his lungs. “I didn’t mean it like that. Donghyuck and I are just good friends, and he’s happy with Mark. But,” he swallowed hard, not sure if he was going too far, “it is a boy.”

That expression was back on Jeno’s face again, and Jaemin wished he could work it out. “Who?”

Jaemin knew that was coming, but he still didn’t want to hear it. Donghyuck would kick him for it, but he avoided the question. “Hey, isn’t it my turn to ask? You’ve had two questions now,” he said, keeping his voice as bright and normal as he could. “So, do you have a crush on anyone?”

“Yes,” the other boy replied immediately, and Jaemin could suddenly hear his own pulse beating in his ears. If Jeno had a crush, didn’t that mean it was all over for him? “But I’ve always been too scared to tell him.”

“Well, it’s not good to harbour a crush for too long.” _I should know, _he thought to himself. “If you think he might feel the same way, you should definitely tell him.”__

Jeno was avoiding eye contact, and Jaemin didn’t know what that meant. “That’s why I’m scared. I don’t know if he feels the same way, and I’d hate to be rejected.”

“I don’t see how he couldn’t.” And there it was, the words were out of Jaemin’s mouth before he could stop them. What had he just done?

Jeno was no longer looking away; his eyes were locked directly onto Jaemin’s. “What do you mean by that?”

Had he passed the point of no return? Maybe could he still wriggle his way out of this and just casually play it off. But he could practically hear Donghyuck screaming at him, and suddenly he didn’t want to bear the weight of a three year crush any more.

“Because any guy would be lucky to have you,” he said, letting his control slip for the final time. He couldn’t maintain the eye contact any more, the atmosphere was too close, too intense, and more than anything he was terrified to see Jeno’s reaction. “You’re sweet, you’re beautiful, you’re talented, someone would have to be crazy to rejec”-

He couldn’t talk anymore because someone was kissing him. _Jeno_ was kissing him.

It didn’t seem real. He could feel the boy’s hand on the back of his neck and his eyelashes fluttering against his cheek, but Jaemin was convinced he was dreaming.

Too quickly Jeno drew away and Jaemin was back in reality, trapped in a freezing cold cabin where the love of his life had just kissed him, and he wasn’t sure what to do next.

Jeno was staring at him. “You better say something because if I made a horrible misjudgement and it’s actually Renjun that you have a crush on and not me then this is gonna get really awkward.”

“Of course it’s you,” Jaemin said breathlessly. “Can’t believe it took you so long to work it out. Not like I hid it for three years or anything.”

“Wow, three years?” Jeno said, a smile spreading across his face. “That makes me feel slightly less pathetic for the two years that I’ve been hiding my crush on you.”

Jaemin could finally let himself smile back, the tension in his core unravelling like tangled string. “Only two? Was I that ugly in freshman year? It was the braces wasn’t it, I know they weren’t my best look.”

Jeno giggled. “No, they were cute. I’m just oblivious and didn’t realise my own feelings. But then after school on the first day of sophomore year I saw you run out into the road to save a cat that was about to be hit. I remember looking at you holding the cat, and even though the driver was swearing at you and Donghyuck was scolding you for almost getting yourself killed, you still had a huge smile on your face. It was then that I realised I was in love with you.”

“That’s so cheesy,” Jaemin said, but there was no stopping the grin spreading across his face.

Jeno stuck his tongue out. “Come on, don’t you have a wonderfully romantic and cliche story of how you fell in love with me?”

“Not really, Donghyuck dragged me along to a basketball match but he’d already called dibs on Mark so I had to settle for the second best looking player and HEY stop hitting me I’m joking,” Jaemin said, pushing Jeno’s assailing hands away. “If you really want to hear it, it was when you walked into my maths class on the very first day of freshman year. I saw you and seriously, it was like time froze. There was this ring of light around you, and then you looked at me and _smiled_ and I knew I was done for.”

Jeno was grinning. “Okay, that’s sufficiently cheesy. I approve it.”

“I can’t believe us,” Jaemin said, interlacing his fingers with the other boy’s. “How did we have feelings for each other for so long and never do anything about it?”

“I only ever told Renjun,” Jeno admitted. “He always nagged me to confess, and when he saw we got roomed together I’ve never seen him so excited.”

Jaemin nodded. “Sounds familiar. Donghyuck was relentless, I’m surprised he never came to you and confessed on my behalf.”

“We’re both dumb, huh?” Jeno sighed. “All those years of a hidden crush, and now we’re going to die in here because no one will ever get us out.”

“They’ll write stories about us for years to come. ‘Two stubborn boys too scared of rejection to confess feelings to each other, end up freezing to death in snow covered cabin immediately after first kiss.’”

Jeno laughed. “That sounds kind of tragic. Let’s at least make it to the second kiss,” he said, lifting Jaemin’s head slightly to connect their lips. When he pulled away he was smiling softly, and Jaemin thought he’d never been so happy in his life.

“We should try and sleep,” Jaemin said. He didn’t want the moment to end, he wanted to stay awake and talk to (and maybe kiss) Jeno all night, but he had to admit he was feeling tired. “Hopefully tomorrow they’ll dig us out and we can finally give Donghyuck and Renjun what they’ve been waiting so long for.”

There was no question of them sharing a bed that night; the cabin was still freezing, and Jaemin wasn’t sure he could have let go of Jeno’s hand even if he’d wanted to. They wrapped themselves up in both their duvets and lay staring at each other. Jaemin couldn’t believe the difference from the night before, when he’d been feeling tense and nervous at their close proximity. Now he felt lighter, like he could finally breathe, and there was still a tingle in his mouth that reminded him Jeno’s lips had been there.

“Goodnight, Jaemin,” Jeno said, echoing his words from the previous night, but this time with an addition. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

~

“Lee Jeno! Na Jaemin!”

Distant shouting broke through Jaemin’s slumber, raising him from a deep sleep. As he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the pretty face asleep next to him. His hand was still intertwined with Jeno’s, and as he remembered what had happened last night he felt a warm glow fill his heart.

He was just starting to think he’d imagined the shouting when he heard it again, and this time it woke Jeno up too. Someone outside the cabin was calling their names.

“Yes?” Jaemin shouted back, both boys jumping out of bed.

“We’re about to start digging you guys out.” It was one of the teachers and Jaemin had never been so glad to hear their voice. “Sorry we couldn’t do it sooner, it took ages for the machinery to get up here. Shouldn’t be too long now. Are you guys okay in there?”

“We’re fine,” Jeno replied, turning to Jaemin with a smile. “We’re definitely fine.”

~

It took a little less than 15 minutes to shift enough snow to allow their escape. They’d both already changed into their warmest clothes, but when they finally opened the door the blast of air that hit them was so cold they almost turned around and went back in.

In contrast to the greyish, dirty snow that had laid on the ground two nights ago, the landscape was now blindingly white with the snow at least half a metre deep even at its’ shallowest. The drifts were twice the height of Jaemin, and he could see how almost every cabin had been enveloped as badly as theirs had.

The teacher smiled at them. “You guys can head over to the main cabin. They have hot food and drinks waiting for you.”

Jaemin and Jeno exchanged a delighted look, and hurriedly started making their way through the snow as quickly as they could, with the promise of a proper meal waiting for them.

When they entered the cabin, they immediately spotted their group of friends. Donghyuck was clinging to Mark like they hadn’t seen each other in weeks, but as soon as he caught sight of Jaemin he jumped up and waved excitedly.

“Oh my God, can you believe it?” his best friend said as the pair arrived at the table and sat down opposite the others. “We were literally buried alive. That’s so exciting.”

“Personally I can’t believe how Jisung put up with being trapped in such a small space with you for over 24 hours,” Jaemin said. He turned to the youngest boy who was sitting on Donghyuck’s other side. “Are you okay Jisung? Do you need therapy?”

The boy giggled. “Actually it wasn’t too bad. Donghyuck was asleep most of the time.”

Jaemin rolled his eyes. “Of course he was.”

“Renjun and Chenle didn’t even get snowed in,” Mark told him. “They were sheltered from the storm by the trees.”

“Yeah but yesterday sucked without you guys,” Renjun said. “What did you even do for all that time?”

“Well when Donghyuck wasn’t sleeping we just played chess,” Jisung said. “It was pretty boring.”

Mark nodded. “Jaehyun and I panicked and ate all our food straight away so we spent most of the time reading books and trying not to think about how hungry we were.”

Then all eyes were on Jaemin and Jeno, with Donghyuck and Renjun looking particularly expectant, but the two had already planned the reveal out as they got ready that morning.

“Yeah we were super bored too,” Jaemin said, amusedly watching Donghyuck’s expression fall. “We ate a bit, read a bit, played Monopoly,”-

“I won”, Jeno interjected.

“Nothing very interesting,” Jaemin said.

“But there was one other thing wasn’t there?” said Jeno, voice perfectly innocent like they’d planned. “Can you remember?”

“Oh yeah, you’re right.” Jaemin smirked, and then he leaned in and pressed his lips to Jeno’s.

There was chaos, as expected. Renjun shouted so loudly half the cabin turned to look at them, while Donghyuck appeared to have entered a state of shock. Mark was excited too, having learnt about Jaemin’s situation from Donghyuck, while Chenle and Jisung who hadn’t known anything joined in the celebrations nonetheless.

“Lee Jeno, thank God you finally got it together,” Renjun said, clapping with happiness. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”

“But luckily he found someone who’s even more of an idiot,” Donghyuck piped up, having regained the ability to speak. Jaemin grinned at his best friend, and Donghyuck finally couldn’t help but smile back. “I’m so happy for you, Nana.”

The boys were in a great mood for the rest of their meal, talking excitedly and no one missing any opportunity to tease Jaemin and Jeno about what had happened.

~

There was still one day left of the trip but the slopes were too deep in snow for anyone to ski on, so an inevitable snowball fight ensued. They made up rules and split into teams with Jaemin, Mark and Chenle pitched against Jeno, Donghyuck, Renjun and Jisung. If you got hit anywhere on the upper body once or the lower body twice, that meant you were dead.

Mark went down early on with a head shot from Donghyuck, but while he was gloating over the defeat of his boyfriend, Chenle hit him square in the back with a perfectly aimed shot. Jisung fought well but couldn’t outrun Jaemin at full speed and was taken down with a shot to the shoulder.

Renjun was very quick and agile, managing to dodge most of the shots aimed at him. He prepared to launch an attack on Jaemin, but Chenle managed to score a hit on his leg first. While he was distracted, Jaemin darted forwards and hit Renjun’s other leg, so he was out too. Jeno was on the defence now, being the only one left in his team. Jaemin and Chenle circled him from both sides, launching their frozen missiles. Jeno ducked and threw one at random, somehow managing to hit Chenle right in the stomach.

There was whistling and cheering from the others when they realised that Jaemin and Jeno were the only two remaining. Both had their advantages over the other, Jaemin with the agile precise movements of a dancer and Jeno with the powerful fast-moving attacks of a basketball player. Their duel went on for a while, both taking a hit to their leg but neither managing to score the final death strike. But eventually they grew tired, and Jaemin was struggling to run as fast as before. Jeno made a grab for Jaemin’s arm but the uneven ground made him lose his balance, falling into the snow and pulling Jaemin down on top of him.

Neither of them could get any breath to do anything but laugh, too exhausted from their battle. Jaemin quickly took the opportunity to squash a snowball into Jeno’s shoulder and grin triumphantly.

“I win,” he said, and planted a kiss on Jeno’s nose.

Donghyuck was groaning. “Get a room.”

“Yeah, I never would have told you to confess if I’d known you’d be this gross,” Renjun said, throwing snow at them.

Jaemin rolled off Jeno to free him and together they raced in pursuit of their friends, hurling snowballs as fast as they could.

When they all got tired of running, they built snowmen and made snow angels and slid down the hill using their coats as sledges. Jaemin was having ten times more fun than when he’d been struggling to stand upright on skis.

As the sky darkened it started to get colder, and the teachers announced they would be having a bonfire to make up for the trip being disrupted. Everyone sat round and watched as the fire began to take hold, starting from nothing but a spark and eventually growing into roaring blaze. The teachers handed out blankets, cups of hot chocolate, and marshmallows for them to toast.

The boys were sitting watching the flames and letting the waves of heat thaw their frozen fingers. Jaemin and Jeno were sat squashed together, sharing a blanket and feeding each other toasted marshmallows.

“They really are the sappiest couple, aren’t they?” Donghyuck said to the others. “We should have known this would happen.”

“Hey Hyuck, thanks for forcing me to come on this trip with you,” said Jaemin with a playful smile. “I really appreciate it.”

Donghyuck pulled a face, but Jaemin knew as much as he acted like he was grossed out, his best friend was really happy for him.

Mark, who had been helping to build the fire, came to sit down next to Donghyuck, who immediately latched onto his boyfriend’s waist.

“What’s up with you?” Mark asked, surprised at the sudden affection.

Donghyuck pouted. “Nothing. I just love you.”

Mark eyed the other boy doubtfully. “Um, I love you too. But I’m suspicious. What do you want?”

“Can’t I tell my boyfriend I love him without being questioned?” Donghyuck replied indignantly. Mark simply raised an eyebrow. Donghyuck sighed. “Okay, can I have the rest of your marshmallows?”

~

Eventually the fire died down and people started to go back to their cabins. Donghyuck had already passed out on Mark’s shoulder, and the rest of the boys were getting sleepy too.

Just as they decided to go to bed, small flakes of snow began to fall from the sky. Jisung immediately groaned. “Not again. Donghyuck, we’re sleeping on the roof tonight.”

The others went off in the opposite direction to their cabins, leaving Jaemin and Jeno walking together through the soft snowfall, tightly holding hands.  
They were mostly silent, content to enjoy each other’s presence. Jaemin couldn’t think of anything he wanted to say anyway.

“I’m so happy,” Jeno eventually said, stirring the cold night air.

“Me too.”

Jeno turned to look at Jaemin as they reached their cabin, his dark eyes sparkling with light. Jaemin was reminded of the same scene just two nights before, when the snow had first started to fall. He’d been unable to take his eyes away from how beautiful Jeno looked with the dots of white in his dark hair, cheeks flushed a little from the cold, the bright smile that had become Jaemin’s whole world. He remembered how much he’d wanted to kiss him.

Now there was nothing stopping him.

Jaemin reached out and cupped both sides of Jeno’s face with his hands. Savouring the moment he’d always dreamed of, he slowly brought their lips together. He felt Jeno’s arms slip around his waist and he melted into the other boy’s grasp. Moving his hands to the back of Jeno’s head, he deepened the kiss, pressing himself as close to Jeno as possible. It felt like a movie, as the snow tumbled down around them, and Jaemin would have been happy to live in the moment forever.

 

________

**_Five months later_**

________

“Just one more time through, then we’re done.”

Jeno was lying on the floor of the school’s dance room, exhausted from the hours of practice Jaemin had put him through. He’d known it would take hard work to get himself up to the standard of the rest of the dance team, but Jaemin was an unforgiving teacher who didn’t allow any time for rest in his practice schedule.

“Lee Jeno,” Jaemin said, trying to use his most serious voice.

“I’m tired,” Jeno whined back at him.

Jaemin tried his best to be strict, but Jeno was giving him puppy dog eyes, and he was weak for them. He knelt down on the floor next to him. “The others are on their way here now, and we’re gonna go for ice cream. If you go through the dance once more, I’ll pay for yours.”

Jeno’s eyes were shining. “Really?” he said, sitting up excitedly. Jaemin nodded, and Jeno grinned widely and kissed him. “Nana, you’re the best.”

“I know, you don’t have to tell me that,” Jaemin said, smiling back at his boyfriend. He held out a hand and helped Jeno to his feet, and they rehearsed their dance one more time.

Just before they finished, Donghyuck and Renjun walked into the room and stood watching the last part of the dance. When it finished, they clapped enthusiastically.

“You guys look so good together,” Renjun said. “Are you gonna perform that at the show?”

Jaemin immediately looked towards Jeno. The other boy had eventually told his parents that he’d joined the dance team, and although they’d seemed disappointed they hadn’t banned him from attending. Despite this, the ordeal had made Jeno nervous about performing publicly.

“We’ll see,” Jaemin answered quickly to spare Jeno having to explain his hesitation, for which he smiled gratefully.

“Anyway we’d better hurry up and go,” Donghyuck said. “The others are outside, and Chenle isn’t as nice and sweet if you keep him waiting for ice cream.”

Jaemin and Jeno headed back to the changing room to collect their things, but just as Jaemin was about to leave he caught sight of one particular bench in the corner by the lockers. It was where he always used to sit with Donghyuck while they skipped sports class during freshman year, and it was also where he’d first told his best friend about his crush.

His crush who was now his boyfriend, and was waiting for him expectantly at the doorway. “Nana, let’s go. I’m excited for my free ice cream.”

“I’m coming,” Jaemin called back, and he smiled.


End file.
